Can flying ever be eco-friendly? - Part One - Biofuel

On Sunday Richard Branson's company,Virgin airlines, launched it's first biofueled flight. The tank was filled with a combination of traditional airline fuel, coconut oil and babassu oil which comes from the babassu palm tree. Branson is apparently committed to a green agenda for his businesses, you can read his recent interview with Freinds Of The Earth here. But even if all Virgin flights ran on biofuel is it enough to really make a difference?

There are concerns, The British Independent quotes The World Development Movement

"...even if all flights in the country used biofuels, the reduction in British aviation's contribution to climate change would be cancelled out by one year's growth in flights."

Maybe this is true but it should be considered that if air traffic is going to continue to increase surely it would be better if they were all flying on biofuel.

Another concern is that the growing popularity of biofuel is displacing food crops in the developing world. The cost of this is spiralling food costs which could eventually lead to famine.

But Branson has thought about this too. The test flight may have been fueled by nut oil but the long term plan is to develop biofuel for the future created using algae from sewers.

Only time will tell if these developments can make a significant difference but for the time being I will continue to try and limit the number of flights I take. Remember it might be quicker and cheaper in the short term to fly from one end of the country to the other but the cost to our future could be devastating.

In part two I will look into carbon offsetting.

Eco Brides and Green Grooms

Whilst researching weddings in an attempt to construct the perfect organic wedding hamper I came across this article in the Sunday Business Post archives. 

There are over 12,000 weddings each year in Ireland, each one creating an average of 14.5 tonnes of carbon emissions. That makes over 174,000 tonnes of carbon in total more that twice the amount that the population of Athy generates in a year. 

If you find these statistics compelling and you are planning a wedding why not make it a green one? Not only will it make a difference to the environment but you will be able to create a day that could truly stand out in the memories of all those who attend.

I found some great sites which can help you with the planning,  this fab site offers a 'challenge us' section for any hard to solve eco problems. The WWF also have a good site devoted to weddings which even includes an eco-friendly gift registry. You can even buy an eco friendly wedding dress. Conscious Elegance  have a great selection including the one pictured above. They tell me that they are planning to launch some party dress designs in May so your guests will be able to find something to wear there too.

Organic Product Review - Booja-Booja Champagne Truffles

I have to declare a bit of an interest in this review. I stock and sell Booja-Booja Champagne truffles and have done for many years. The reason I stock them is because I love them and have done since the very first time I tasted one. I had been searching out the best organic chocolate box for some time but hadn't managed to find one that came up to scratch. It was at a trade show in London that I discovered them, and whilst having a conversation with the sales rep must have eaten my way through a mountain of samples. All of the Booja-Booja truffles are good. As well as the Champagne there are Ginger Wine, Hazelnut Crunch, Around Midnight Espresso and Cognac Flambéed Banana. All of them have been my favourite from time to time but the Champagne always wins out in the end.

When you open a box of Booja-Booja you know you are getting something really special. The truffles are presented in a black box trimmed in gold. When you get inside the cocoa dusted truffles look up at you from gold shiny packaging. Dark chocolate is often quite bitter but as you bite through the shell of these truffles you are greeted with a creamy, very alcoholic flavour. I often tell people that these chocolates are so decadent that you could not possibly eat the whole box at once but I have a sneaking suspicion that if you left me alone in a room with them I might give it a go. All Booja-Booja Truffles are Vegan, wheat, dairy and gluten free.

You can buy Booja-Booja Champagne Truffles from my website.

Booja-Booja Truffles are certified organic by the Soil Association.

Green washed at the Farm?

I am part of an informal dinner club with two friends. Once a month we splash out and try a new restaurant. It's a great way for us to stay in touch since I have moved away from the city. As we are all food lovers we enjoy indulging ourselves. Sometimes we even have four deserts between the three of us!

In December we decided to visit The Farm on Dawson Street, Dublin, a restaurant seemingly specialising in organic and local foods. It sounded right up my street and I was really looking forward to my visit. First impressions were good; a big blackboard outside announced its ethos of commitment to local and/or organic produce. The decor, although not screaming eco or organic was pretty. I was late and my friends were really hungry so I chose quickly from the menu.

It was only as I settled down that I noticed that my companions were drinking Heineken, not very organic or even local. Then I noticed that in the centre of each table, on top of white bleached paper tablecloths was a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup. I started to wonder what if anything in this place was organic. Our starters came and went, I had the hummus, which was nice. One of my friends has just completed a wine course so I let her choose the wine. When it came I discovered that it wasn't organic either in fact there was a limited choice of organic wines on the list and they were all quite highly priced. When our mains came I looked down on two small, overcooked pear and brie tartlets, they looked like they had come straight from the supermarket, the rocket salad was pleasant though and I did my best to disguise the taste of the tartlets by piling loads on top of it. One of our party had pizza made from organic flour - at last something organic - which I believe was fantastic, as was the burger enjoyed by the third member of our group

Desert was great too. We all had chocolate cake which had been individually decorated for each of us. The service was fast and very attentive. Although overall the food was good (for my companions at least), I came away at the end of the evening desperately disappointed. I'm really not sure who this place is aimed at, the hardcore environmental foodie would want organic ketchup (readily available), an organic wine list and more visible eco credentials, someone ambivalent towards the organic movement would probably be put off before they walked in the door.

I can only hope that The Farm will re-think its formula and become the restaurant it claims to be.

Running A Paperless Office

I am going to try to give up paper for February and am moderating a discussion on the subject on Irish Business Women.com at the moment. I will keep you up to date with my progress on my blog but you can also follow the discussion here.

Recipe - Sheepless Shepherds Pie

After a month off from blogging I thought I would give you all a treat and share with you one of my favorite recipes for this season. I find it goes down really well with both vegetarians and meat eaters and is a great warming, rustic, comfort dish.

Serves 4

225g lentils soaked over night (Green, Brown or Puy are best)

2tbsp Yeast extract (eg. Marmite although there are some organic ones available)

1tsp Dijon mustard

50g Butter

1 Onion

2 Carrots chopped into cubes

A handful of string beans sliced into 2cm lengths

1tsp Dried mixed herbs or 1tbsp fresh mixed herbs

450g Potatoes

1 Large parsnip

Extra butter and milk for mashing

Pre-heat the oven to 180c 350F or Gas Mark 4

Cut the potatoes and parsnip into small chunks and steam or boil for about 20 minutes until tender. Mash them together with some extra butter, salt and milk until smooth.

Add the yeast extract to one liter of boiling water. Stir in until dissolved

Cook the lentils in half of the yeast extract mixture for approximately 20 minutes or until they are tender. Drain the liquid.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onions for a couple of minutes until soft. 

Add the chopped carrot and stir for another few minutes until they begin to soften. 

Now add the string beans and stir for another minute.

Stir in the flour until it has soaked up all the moisture from the pan. 

Slowly add the rest of the yeast extract mixture, continuously stirring until smooth. 

Mix in the Lentils, dijon mustard and herbs. Season to taste.

Pour the mixture into the bottom of an oven proof dish and top with the potato and parsnip mixture.

Make grooves through the mash with a fork and bake for 30 minutes.

If you would like to recieve a seasonal recipe every month to your inbox, join the Feelgood Organic Hampers recipe of the month.  This months recipe is spicy tomato and lentil soup.

5 step guide to a greener Christmas - Step 5 - Entertainment

It seems traditional at Christmas to flop down in front of the Television after dinner, the Children might go and play on their Wii or Playstation and our electricity meters start spinning at an alarming rate. 

One of the best Christmases I can remember we suffered a power cut and were forced to resort to more traditional entertainment. We spent the evening playing 'Trivial Pursuit' by candle light. This year Cranium, Connect 4 and Kerplunk are on the cards. If it isn't already a tradition of your family to take a walk after dinner, why not try it? It's a beautiful winters day here in Athy and I for one intend to take a stroll by the river this afternoon. So, today on Christmas day, why not make a resolution to switch it all off for a couple of hours and spend some quality time as a family, you are not only saving electricity and the environment but it gives you a chance to really bond with those closest too you.

Have a great Christmas everyone and I'll see you back here in the new year.

Christmas Carols for Charity

If your ears can bear it, you can listen to my version of 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' for a small donation to the Children’s Medical Research Foundation - Crumlin Children’s Hospital  at: Mumcentic.

5 step guide to a greener Christmas - Step 4 - Presents

This years must have gift, the Nintendo Wii, is flying off the shelves, but what are it's green credentials? According to Green Peace, who have recently launched a new website: Clash of the Consoles, games consoles "contain toxic chemicals and can contribute to the massive growth of electronic waste that's often dumped, causing widespread environmental pollution and health problems for unprotected workers." So I guess to be green we should look else where.

If you live in the Kildare area, there is still a chance to buy one of my organic gift hampers, you can collect or buy at the Naas Farmers Market on Christmas Eve.  For other green gift ideas, you could visit the Eco-shop in glen of the downs which is open until 5pm on Christmas Eve, or the Cultivate centre in Dublin city centre, which although closed on Christmas Eve is open on Sunday the 23rd of December 2007 from 12-5.30pm. 

Online, but sadly too late for this Christmas, have a look at  Nigel's Eco Store. I sent the link out to all my friends in the hope that they would get me something from there. Be warned you could spend the best part of a day browsing through all the great products on offer on his site.

Another lovely idea, is the gift of a tree. Either delivered to your door, sent as a gift certificate so that the recipient can choose their own, or planted on your behalf   this is the ultimate environmental gift. 

For gift wrapping Klee paper do a good range of recycled wrapping paper and cards. For a list of retailers stocking their products check their website. And remember to recycle and reuse your gift wrap.

5 step guide to a greener Christmas - Step 3 - Dinner

Eating has become the thing that I look forward to the most on Christmas Day. But in the midst of all the gluttony it is possible to be a bit greener. 

Firstly, try not to buy too much food. I know myself that it is a hard to resist the mountains of food in the supermarkets at this time of year, but wasted food is a disaster for the environment. The population of the UK throw away about a third of the food they buy, I haven't been able to find a statistic for Ireland but I would imagine that it would be quite similar. The problem is that a lot of our food waste ends up in landfill and produces methane as it decays. As we are now all aware thanks to the belching cow phenomenon, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. The more worrying and less obvious consequence, according to WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) Is the "embedded energy used to produce, package, transport and deliver the food to our homes which produces the equivalent of at least 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year." 

If you are a meat eater I am sure that turkey and ham is a must. Try and source organic meat if possible, if you can't source organic try and buy locally to cut down on the food miles. 

For vegetarians, again try and source local and organic produce. A lot of the ingredients for my own veggie feast can be found at Farmers Markets and health food stores. By shopping here as well as having the best variety of organic and local foods you can also avoid all the packaging that often comes with supermarket vegatables.

If you have a garden it's worth investing in a good compost bin so that you can compost your peelings to help your garden grow in the new year.

5 step guide to a greener Christmas - Step 2 - The Tree

The scent of the pine tree, to me is the smell of Christmas. But are Christmas Trees eco friendly? The good news is that it can be. Christmas trees are farmed and replanted every year so even if you get a cut tree you can rest assured that you are not depriving the earth of a CO2 absorbing tree. Try to buy locally in order to cut down on the amount of fuel consumed getting it to your house. If you buy one in a pot with a view to replanting it at the seasons end, be aware that our warm houses are not neccesarily the best environment for keeping them in, to help it survive make sure you give it plenty of water. The most important thing is to remember to recycle it after Christmas. There are lots of council run recycling stations which will take in your christmas tree, mulch it and use it to help new things grow.

So what about artificial trees? Unfortunately, although as they are reusable artificial trees consume massive amounts of energy during manufacture. This means that they create CO2 during production where as a real tree absorbs it. They are also made from PVC which is derived from oil. If you have one already, don't throw it away, it would be a shame to think that all that CO2 would have been wasted. They make great second trees. 

Although an Irish grown living tree is the more environmentally friendly of your choices do be aware that trees are often sprayed with chemicals and as yet I have been unable to find an organic tree here.

For more information, I found this great article on the Christmas Tree Debate.

5 step guide to a greener Christmas - Step 1 - Christmas Decorations

It’s easy to put aside your good habits when it comes to Christmas but being green can be fun too.
Organic Yum Yum has compiled an easy step by step guide on how to have an eco friendly Christmas

Making your own Christmas Decorations is a great way to bond as a family. Try painting patterns on used paper, cut it into strips and make paper chains with them. They are a great alternative to tinsel. If you are a bit more adventurous you can be more creative with your paper chains, try these ones. Pine trees shed their cones throughout the year and if you live near a wood with lots of evergreens you should have no problem collecting them. They make great Christmas Tree Decorations, or if you are creative you can add them to some fresh cut holly or other garden foliage to make a Christmas Wreath.

You can even bake your own Christmas Tree decorations. Subscribe to Feelgood Organic Hampers recipe of the month service for free by emailing recipe@feelgoodhampers.com and you will get a recipe for shortbread Christmas shapes just in time for the big day. There are plenty of LED, low voltage fairy lights available at the moment which will help cut down on the amount of power you use, try to remember to switch them off when you go to bed.

Famous at Last

Just thought I'd let you all know about some press coverage we have had recently.

The Sunday Business Post

The Kildare Nationalist (scroll down to the bottom of the page)

And Liz Fuller, who has an excellent blog "More Than We Know" has written a profile on me. 

Recipe - Amanda's Perfect Porridge

No one could have failed to have noticed the sudden drop in temperature in Ireland at the moment. I now have a grand total of three hot water bottles in my bed to keep me warm at night. In the morning there is nothing like a good bowl of porridge to help me warm up. I sell Jumbo oats from Rossinver and they have been flying off my stall at the Naas Market. My personal preference is for oatflakes, which make a lovely creamy porridge. I get mine from the health food shop and Flahavans do a lovely organic one that you can pick up in most supermarkets.

For all you porridge novices here is my fail safe quick microwave porridge recipe.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 a cup of porridge flakes or oats

1/2 a cup of milk

1/2 a cup of water

1 tbsp honey

A sprinkling of toasted mixed seeds (optional)

Method:

Pour the oats into a microwavable bowl with the milk and water.

Stir

Put in the microwave at full power for 2 1/2 minutes

Stir in the honey and seeds(if required)

Serve and enjoy

GM Free Petition

On November 28th 2007 the European Commission is making a decision about weather to allow two new strains of GM maize to be cultivated in Europe. These new strains could, amongst other things, have a hideous effect on our wildlife.

To find out more check out GM free Ireland's website. To add your signature to the petition follow this link.

Why Organic Skincare

I have been using and selling organic skin care products for well over a year, but whereas people are beginning to understand the reasons for eating organic food, the benefits of using organic cosmetics are probably not so well know. Although there are strict regulations in place for the labeling of foods as organic these do not apply to skin care products. This can be quite confusing for the consumer, how can you be sure that the bottle of moisturiser on the shop shelf does not contain harmful chemicals?

It is widely believed that a percentage of what you put on your skin is absorbed into your blood stream and a few years ago there was quite a scare when some chemicals, such as parabens used in preserving skin care products and deodorants, were found to be present in breast tumors. No conclusive evidence has been found to link cancer and these chemicals but the scare alone has driven many to seek non chemical solutions. 

The amount of chemicals present in the everyday creams, gels and soaps that we use is quite alarming. A quick look at the side of a bottle will bamboozle you with long names such as methylchloroisothiazolinone, phthalates, polyethylen glycol which appear alongside more familiar ones such as formaldhyde. Some of these chemicals are harmful by themselves, for example methylchloroisothiazolinone is thought to be linked to gene mutations and nervous system disorders, phthalates to genital abnormalities and infertility and formaldehyde to cancer and respiratory irritation. The real worry is that nobody knows what long term effects these chemicals will have when they are combined. In the past, clinical studies on mice have shown that mixing some pesticides can cause conditions similar to Parkinsons Disease an effect never anticipated when the chemicals were used on their own. 

In order to avoid these chemicals we must choose organic but how do we know which ones really are organic? 

Although it is not a legal requirement, if you want to be sure it really is organic,  look for certification on the packaging. Some certification bodies are stricter than others. I always feel like I can trust the Soil Association and I believe the Australian Certified Organic label has one of the strictest set of rules for certification of skin care. Always look to see what percentage of the ingredients are organic. The soil association will approve a small amount of non organic ingredients to be used in the formulas it certifies but these will always be a very small percentage of the end product.

Some of the best known brands of certified organic skin care are: Essential Care, Spiezia from the UK, Miessence from Australia, Dr Bronner from the States and I'm glad to see a new Irish brand on the market Nadur Organics who are in the process of becoming certified.

Organic Product Review - Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap

Every now and then a little package will arrive for me in the post. Sometimes they come from my suppliers, sometimes from potential suppliers and sometimes they are just things that my friends and family have picked up for me.

Recently I received a package that contained a variety of soaps. I have to admit, I wasn't madly excited when I found a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap amongst them. I first encountered these liquid soaps at the Organic Products Show in London earlier this year. I stood there while a salesman tried to describe the special qualities of the soap while spraying my hand over and over with water and soap. I probably had so many substances sprayed on my hand that day that any benefit of the liquid soap was lost on me. For this reason Dr. Bronner sat in my bathroom cabinet until, one day, out of desperation, after unexpectedly running out of showergel, I grabbed the little bottle.

From that moment onwards I was a convert. One of the problems I often encounter with organic skincare products is that they don't produce much foam.  I have been told the reason for this is that a chemical agent is used to create this foam. As certified organic products do not contain chemicals they usually also do not contain foam. Dr Bronner, which is 100% certified organic does foam, the bubbles don't last for long but they are lovely whilst they do. It also doesn't smell of anything, I don't mind this, I often find the cocktail of scents that I pour on myself in the bathroom can be a bit overpowering. Some of the soaps in the Dr. Bronner range are scented. I am currently using their peppermint soap bar, which does have a mild peppermint scent but nothing compared to the other products in my bathroom. For some people this could be a disadvantage but it is easily solved by adding a drop or two of organic scented oil to the bottle.

The thing I love about this product, and the reason I will be stocking up on this for myself is that it makes your skin feel amazing. It doesn't dry it out like other products yet it leaves it remarkably clean. I use an organic moisturiser after showering and it used to be a race to get it on to my skin before it starts to shrivel.  After using Dr. Bronner I can relax before moisturising. 

There are disadvantages to this product, aside from the lack of scent and the quickly fading bubbles this is an American product. That means it has travelled a long way to get here. I am sure that Dr. Bronner is busily off setting it's air miles but it is probably still better to buy an organic product closer to home. Even with this considered I will still be buying this product over and over again. I love it!

Recipe of The Month

It's Organic Week in Ireland this week and Feelgood Organic Hampers is launching it's "Organic Recipe Of The Month" to celebrate it.

If you would like me to send an easy to make recipe, which will help you make the best of seasonal ingredients, once a month to your inbox drop me an email at recipe@feelgoodhampers.com. 

If you have a recipe to contribute I'm giving away goodies to anyone who sends me one that I use.

For more details of what is going on for organic week check out Ollies Blog.

Dublin Food Co-op Official Launch

As part of the celebrations for organic week the Dublin Food Co-0p will be officially launching at it's new premises.

For those of you not familiar with the co-op, it is the original organic food market. It has long been one of the best places in Dublin to shop for organic produce both fresh and dried. I was a member there for many years but have let it lapse since I have moved away from the city. Not only was it a great place to shop, I also enjoyed spending my Friday mornings volunteering with them.

A lot of the work in the co-op is carried out by members who receive a discount on their dried goods for the effort. The full or part time staff that run the coop are some of the nicest people you could met and it was always great to talk to them about recent developments in the organic and green movement. So it is with great pleasure that I see they have finally attained their goal of moving to a bigger and better location.

For those of you able to attend, the new co-op is being officially opened by John Gormley, this Saturday (20th October 2007) at 11am. It is based at 12 Newmarket, Cork Street, Dublin 8. They have a map on their website  for those of you not familiar with the area.

Sadly I won't be able to make it myself, as always I will be manning my stall at the Naas Farmers Market.

European Parliament Vote On Pesticides

I received an email from the Soil Association this week asking for my help on this issue. I am including the full text of the email. I'll be blogging more later this week, I just thought this was an issue well worth drawing your attention to. 

Just a thought but if the EU votes in favour of these restrictions are they admitting that pesticides are bad for our health?

Dear friend

I am writing to ask you urgently to email or write to your MEP about some European legislation on pesticides that the European Parliament will vote on in a plenary session on around 23 October. As with many environmental and food safety issues, crucial decisions affecting all of us are now taken at European level, and pesticide safety is no exception. The European Commission are introducing new, Europe-wide laws on pesticides, and there is a chance that these will actually strengthen protection of the public from dangerous sprays.

The European Parliament's Environment Committee has agreed several key amendments to the proposed law, but these now have to be agreed by the European Parliament, and all MEPs have a vote. The chemical industry and the UK's National Farmers' Union are lobbying hard to have all these changes rejected by the Parliament, while Georgina Downs of UK Pesticides Campaign, who initiated many of these proposals, has been working to have them accepted. I have listed below five of the key amendments that the MEPs will have to agree or reject. If you feel any of these are important, and should be agreed by the European Parliament, please let your MEP know. You can find your MEP's name and contact details at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en

Many thanks to all of you who asked Gordon Brown 'to Wake Up!' to the benefits of organic food and farming, by feeding him an organic breakfast. It is still not to late to join in if you haven't already done so - we'll be reporting the number of hits to the Prime Minister - open this link to play and email it on to your friends and colleagues:
http://www.soilassociation.org/wakeupgordon

Best wishes,

Emma

Emma Hockridge
Campaigner
The Soil Association
0117 914 2433 / ehockridge@soilassociation.org

Prohibiting pesticide use in and around public areas like people's homes, hospitals, public parks, playgrounds and schools
The Environment Committee voted in favour of an amendment to prohibit pesticide use in and around public areas, including residential areas, parks, public gardens, sports and recreation grounds, school grounds, playgrounds, and in the vicinity of public healthcare facilities (clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation centres, health resorts, hospices), particularly, although not exclusively, to protect sensitive groups, such as, babies, children, pregnant women, embryos and foetuses, the elderly, those with pre-existing medical conditions and who may be taking medication, along with all other vulnerable groups. The amendment also specified that the no-spray zones should be substantial and that in all these areas non-chemical alternatives should be used.

Vulnerable groups to include residents subject to high pesticide exposure over the long term
The Environment Committee voted in favour of an amendment that described vulnerable groups as: “Persons needing specific consideration when assessing the acute and chronic health effects of plant protection products. These include pregnant and nursing women, embryos, and fetuses, infants and children, the elderly, people who are ill and those taking medication, workers and residents subject to high pesticide exposure over the long term.”

Residents to have the right to know what is being sprayed next to where they live
Environment Committee voted in favour of an obligation to inform residents and neighbours about pesticide spraying in their locality, as well as the requirement for farmers and other pesticide users to provide information on the pesticides used directly to residents and neighbours who request access to it.

Call a pesticide a pesticide (not a 'plant protection product'!)
The Environment Committee voted in favour of an amendment to change the entire terminology used throughout the adopted text, including the title, from 'Plant Protection Products' to 'pesticides'. The term 'plant protection products' attempts to put a positive spin on chemicals that are deliberately designed to be toxic. The use of this wording throughout the Commission’s proposal, including the title, was inappropriate as many members of the public will not be familiar with this terminology, and its use could lead to confusion amongst members of the public.

Give priority to ways of growing healthy crops without using pesticides
The Environment Committee also voted in favour of a number of amendments for the prioritization of non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management. The only real solution to eliminate the adverse impacts of pesticides is to take a preventative approach with the widespread adoption of truly sustainable non-chemical and natural methods of plant protection and pest and crop management (including rotation, physical and mechanical control and natural predator management), as happens in organic systems. This protects not only public health, but animals, wildlife, air, water, soil, food and the wider environment. Reliance on complex chemicals designed to kill plants, insects or other forms of life, cannot be classified as sustainable.

To find your local MEP go to:- http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en

If you would like more detailed information on the European proposals you can contact Georgina Downs of UK Pesticides Campaign who has prepared a briefing for MEPs http://www.pesticidescampaign.co.uk/